Away In The Manger
by OnaMarzhan
Summary: (AU) Hermione is expecting a new child soon after x-mas, and after dropping off the kids at Harry's home for a sleepover she and Ron head home. But something happens and the baby is suddenly missing, the kids decide to find out what happened.
1. Default Chapter

"JAMES POTTER!"  
  
"Uh-oh, what did you do this time?" red-headed Cory Weasley asked her cousin, glancing around to see if any adults were coming their way.  
  
"Invisible curses," James answered. "I guess I forgot the silencing charms." Sandy haired Rommy Lupin came bunny hopping into the room, a look of pure malice on her 12 year old face. "Umm...hi Rom. How goes it?"  
  
"JAMES! UN-DO THIS RIGHT NOW!" Giggling James muttered the counter curses, then ran into the living room of his house, diving behind an armchair, where his father was sitting.  
  
"What the-" Rommy was in hot persuite, a pillow in hand. She spotted James, who was peeking around the corner of the chair, and hurled the pillow at him, missing as he retreated. Remus watched with amusement as his daughter dove at Harry's son, grabbing a pillow off a nearby empty chair, and soon both father's were cheering on their kids with mild amusement.  
  
"Hey! Take it outside you two!" Ginny instructed, carrying a tea tray holding seven cups and a teapot. James made a mad break for the door, but Rommy caught him by his left ankle, dragging him down to the kitchen floor.  
  
"Caleb, open the back door!" James shouted desperately, as he struggled to crawl acros the floor, Rommy trying to pull him back. He dragged her out into the back yard where they began to throw snowballs at each other. Cory and Caleb watched from inside, as Rommy dove at James, tackling him headfirst into a snowdrift.  
  
"Ooh, that had to sting," Cory winced.  
  
"Nah, James saw that coming," Caleb replied. "See?" Sure enough, James had flipped Rommy onto her back and had her pinned.  
  
"Those two fighting again?" came a new voice. The twins turned around to see Lili Black, a tall girl with deep brownish-red hair.   
  
"Yup. James caught her with some invisible curses," Cory explained.  
  
"Ouch, I bet that was interesting to hear."  
  
"I think the rents are used to it," Caleb snickered. True, the adults were used to their children pulling endless pranks on each other, and it was a sure fact that they couldn't wait for christmas vacation to end, even if it had just began. Rommy and James finally came in, soaking wet and shivering from head to foot.  
  
"So,Caleb, Cory, when's your mom due to have the baby?"  
  
"Um...I think on the 30th," they replied, glancing through the doorway at his mom. Hermione would be having her third child very soon now, and they were looking forward to being big brothers and sisters.   
  
"Is it a girl or a boy?" Rommy pressed.  
  
"I don't know. Mum doesn't want to know until the baby is actually born."   
  
"That's cool," Lili agreed. "And when the baby starts crying, feel free to escape for the summer over at my place."  
  
"Great."  
  
"Don't hold to that, he'll be dead by then if he tries to pull something like that one me again," Rommy reassured.  
  
"Pipe down, pipsqueak," Caleb teased, patting her on the head. James couldn't help but note how much shorter Rommy was then all of them. She was even shorter then most of the first years. Of course, there were reasons. There were reasons for a lot of things that happened to Rommy. For one thing, she had born way too early. For other things, she was constantly getting sick; not so much due to the weather, but just because it happened.   
  
"So, what do you guys want to do, now that the two of you have had your daily knockdown?" Lili asked.   
  
"We can play Exploding Snap?" James suggested.  
  
"Nah, too noisy, the rents would yell," Cory argued. "We could always stack the furniture on the roof again."  
  
"No, your dad's expecting that one," Rommy sighed. "I know!" She gave Lili and Cory a knowing look, a look that the two boys in the group had learned to recognize and fear.  
  
"No...don't you even-" Too late. The boys were dragged to a back room, where the girls proceded to tie them down with a thin cord. From there the boys were put under the torture of having their hair put up, having their nails painted, and being placed under the girl's creativity with make-up.   
  
"Hey Rommy, do you have any of that new hair gel from Aunt Carla?" Cory asked.  
  
"Yeah, in my back pack. Its in the foyer." The three girls ran out of the room, giving the boys a chance to wiggle their way out of the room, down the hall, and into the living room.  
  
"Oh my-" Camerane began. "Oh, you're letting the girls play dress up on you! That is so sweet!"  
  
"How dense is your wife?" Remus snickered at Sirius who was rolling his eyes.  
  
"Come on boys, back to the bedroom," Lili smirked. "We aren't done yet."  
  
"Mom! Dad! Help us..." All of the adults looked at each other before bursting into laughter.  
  
"Well, at least they aren't putting the furniture on the roof," Tala laughed. Harry and Ginny nodded. They still hadn't completely fixed the sofa, which had been frozen to the side of the house, held up by a charm Cory had cast.  
  
"Well, I think its time for us to head home," Hermione said. "We'll you see you all tomorrow."  
  
"Bye Hermione, bye Ron," everyone called. But little did they know how soon they'd be seeing each other again, and the circumstances would not be joyful. 


	2. chapter 2

"Rommy, this is not funny! Let me go!"   
  
"James, you baby! Consider this the last of your punishment."  
  
"But people will see me!" he whined. "Caleb will see me! "My parents will see me."  
  
"Tough luck!" Rommy pushed James out of the door, the boy tripping slightly on the bright pink dress that Rommy had dressed him in. What awaited them outside made it seem like Rommy had been nice to James. Caleb stood between Lili and Cory, his face covered in horridly bright make-up, the tie-dyed robes making him look like a clown. Gaudy clip-on earings dangled from his ears, finishing the whole outfit..if you could call it that.   
  
"To the living room," Lili announced gleefully. But when they had frog marched the boys into the living room, they found that Harry and Ginny weren't there. Nor were they in the dining room. James, crawling out of the dress, ran to the bedroom, putting his ear to the door. He could hear them talking inside, on the telephone which Harry had put in incase muggle contact from the kids was ever needed.   
  
"...is she okay? Oh my god! We'll be right over. No, the kids will stay here...don't want them to panic. We'll be there in a few minutes."   
  
James ran back into the living room, signaling to the others that something was going on. Harry and Ginny rushed into the room, cloaks in hand. "We have to go out really quick. There's food in the cubbords if you get hungry. Don't destroy the house. We'll be back as soon as possible." They didn't wait for questions, they just left.  
  
"What's going on?" Cory asked.  
  
"I don't know. But I know how to find out. Come on." He took them to his parent's bedroom, where he lifted the phone from the reciever, tapping it with his wand. "I put a charm on it a while back so I could find out what the adults were syaing to each other."  
  
"Nice," Rommy complimented.  
  
"Ginny, Harry, its Ron. Look, we're at a muggle hospital. Something happened, we were attacked or something. The...the baby is gone. We don't know what happened. Hermione's in a coma-"  
  
James tapped the phone again and the message stopped. Caleb and Cory looked horror struck. "You know what we have to do now."  
  
"I'll get the brooms," Lili volunteered.  
  
"Lets go." 


	3. chapter 3

"Rommy, just get on the broom, we don't have time for this!" James hissed. Everyone else was ready to go, but Rommy was holding her broom, shaking.   
  
She dropped it, holding her face in her hands. "I'm sorry! I just can't fly!"  
  
Lili looked up at the sky. A storm was coming in, and fast too. Everyone was watching Rommy intently, wanting to get this "mission" underway. But all of them were a bit more understanding...they knew why Rommy was afraid to fly. The previous christmas all of them had been flying in the woods behind Rommy's house when a bear had attacked the group. Everyone was able to get away...except Rommy. The bear, confused and angry, and clawed at her, splintering her broom and sending her down a deep ravine. She spent a week unconscious and when she did wake up, she was extremely broom shy.  
  
"Hey, its okay," James reasured. "Here, you can fly with me." Nodding sullenly, Rommy climbed onto his broom and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist.   
  
"We have to climb fast," Lili instructed. "There's a storm coming."  
  
"And did your thrid eye tell you that?" Caleb joked. He loved making fun of the gift Lili and her mother Camerane shared...only because it made Lili spaz.  
  
But this time she kept her cool and simply said, "Yes." They rose in the sky and soared above the dark clouds that were coming at them, into the starry night. Lili would be the one leading the way...seeking any pattener that was similar to Cory and Calebs, as the baby was their sibling. "I have the baby's mind pattern! To the east!." They all turned their brooms in midair and took off to the east.  
  
  
* * *  
  
A hazel eyed girl with white-blonde hair stood in the chilly stone hall, her bare feet numb from the lack of heat, listening intently to the events going on in the room next to her. She could hear a small wailing and her father's growling. ''Oh no, not another one!' she thought to herself. If she knew her father, and she did, this child would not last very long in this manor. 'I can't let this happen!'  
  
She creeped forward and peered through the keyhole of the large oak door. All she could see was a squirmin, wailing, child on the solid maple desk. The baby couldnt have been more then a few hours old! She pressed her ear to the door, listening to her father's musings.  
  
"Not exactly the Potter's brat, but it belongs to his best friend...it should have enough power to ressurect the Dark Lord." The girl gasped and backed away from the door. How could he plan such a thing! She'd have thought that after just escaping from the ministry that he'd have more since then that! Was that what the children were used for?! From inside the room she could hear her father pause. "Bethlehem, is that you?"  
  
She stood up and tore off down the hall, running into her room and shutting the door. She hated to think what he'd do if he knew she'd eased dropped...not to her but to the child. A few moments later there was a knock at the door. "Come in," she called, steadying her voice. Her father's face appeared from the hall.   
  
He was the complete opposite of her. While she had pale skin and hair, his was dark. The only thing they shared were the hazel eyes. "Just checking up on you, pumpkin."  
  
"I'm fine," Bethlehem lied. "Just looking for something else to read." It was a good thing she hadn't cleaned her room, because the discarded pile of books on her floor made her story convincing.   
  
"I was just about to make myself something to eat. Do you want anything?" She shook her head no and he disappeared.   
  
Did he suspect? she wondered. She watched him as he walked away down the hall, turning into the kitchen. Her lie had worked...for the most part. Without realy thinking, she ran swiftly and silently down the stone hall, pushing the door to her father's study wide open. The child was still crying, naked on the desk. Poor little girl, Bethlehem thought, scooping the child into her arms. With the care of a new mother, she cradled the child, who stopped crying immediately when she felt Bethlehem's heartbeat. With the stealth of a leopard on the hunt, she ran back to her room, pulling out a small, pale rose blanket out of her closet. It had been burried neneath the tond of stuffed animals her father had bought for...always a new one after he came back from his "work". It was like he thought he could redeem himself in her eyes for being a death eater if he brought her presents.  
  
The blanket had been the one her own mother had wrapped her in as a baby. Now this baby would use it. She wrapped the child securely, then set her on the bed as she herself dressed in some warm pants, a long sleeved shirt and a pair of fur-lined boots. She grabbed her winter cloak from the hook and clipped it around her shoulders. Then she lifted the baby in her arms again and opened her window. The fall was about three feet, but the snow was deep...it would cushion her fall. Holding the baby close to her breast, the 16 year old jumped from the window, landing flat on her back. The baby cried only but a moment, before Bethlehem's soft singing quieted her.   
  
Standing up, she began to jog through the deep, freezing snow. She knew several places where she could hide...and even though most of them would allow her father to follow him it was really only to throw him off. She knew exactly where to go with the newborn girl. A place not even her father knew about...and one hed never think of going to. But first she had to throw him off. So she headed down into the deep forest behind the manner, where her journey would begin.  
  
Back at the manner Bethlehem's father had just returned to his study. The glass of wine he'd poured himself fell and shattered on the ground. The room was void of life...the child was gone. Angrily, he stormed into Bethlehem's room and found it empty as well, though the window was open. He peered outside to see a deep imprint in the snow, and more footprints leading away in the night. With great rage he roared out into the frigid night. "Bethlehem!" 


End file.
